10386 Main Street

FREE docent-led tours Saturdays,  May 4 - September 28, Noon to 3 p.m.  Please check Tours and Programs page for any schedule changes. 

Open for short tours during many city special events. We will be open during Fall Festival, October 12 , from Noon- 3 p.m.

Featuring the exhibition Kitty Barrett Pozer: A Life to Honor

Phone: 703-385-8414

Ratcliffe-Allison-Pozer House History

This charming brick house is the City's oldest residence within what was the original 6-block Town of Providence. The daily activities of some of its twelve owners and occupants are interpreted for visitors, illustrating commercial and domestic change along Main Street during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Lot Number 10 in Providence was owned by Richard Ratcliffe, the city's founder.  In 1807, cobbler Henry Logan purchased the lot and built a small brick house.  It was expanded in 1824 by the Allison family.

The last two owners were Kate Waller Barrett, a prominent social reformer, and her daughter, Kitty Pozer. Following her mother's death, Kitty purchased the house with her husband, Charles Pozer, and joined a new 1927 prefabricated house to the earlier brick structure. A respected gardener, Mrs. Pozer deeded the house to the city in 1973. Following her death in 1981, the City purchased her extensive property that extended to North Street.

The Kitty Pozer Garden is directly behind the 1927 house and includes carefully chosen plantings to emulate Kitty Pozer's gardening tastes intertwined with meandering pathways, and benches beneath a tall tree cover. A wayside sign interprets the life and achievements of Kitty Pozer - a true preservationist. Kitty Pozer Garden Map

Behind the garden, Fairfax City realized a vision of a central downtown location for citizens and visitors to gather on a daily basis and during yearly special events when they opened Old Town Square an extension of the land that encompassed the original garden park. Old Town Square combines attractive landscaping and hardscaping with water features, a splash pad, benches, and a pergola/stage area.

Historic House Museum Group

Ratcliffe-Allison House and Historic Blenheim are participating members of the Historic House Museum Consortium of Metropolitan Washington D.C. Please visit their website below to learn about over 40 historic house museums in the Washington DC area including Mount Vernon, Riversdale, White House and many more in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC! Visit www.dchousemuseums.org for information.

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